_I don't read manga much. So, most of my anime reviews are purely based on the animated adaptation._

Being one of the more popular anime in recent years. It uses this popularity to embrace the fact that, while possibly not adapting from the manga completely. The show manages to find its footing and has a level head through the first season.

So for me, the first season is the best and is actually really good. Delving into the concept of change and perspective. It's very interesting how the show develops the audience's understanding of this world. How evil and good aren't defined by what you are, but how you are treated. Obviously being a metaphor for racism in the most extreme way. But it works well. Driving the point home with this great ensemble of characters that you grow to love and hate. Really having a sense of character focus rather than an overall world perspective, keeps it grounded and alive while watching. While it does suffer from the normal anime tropes sometimes, it still feels original in a way and deserves the praise it gets.

The second season I know deviates from the manga almost entirely. But going from season 1 to this isn't jarring at all if you just watch the anime. It fits and feels the same. However, it loses that grounded feeling once it begins to explore the overpowered aspects of ghouls. It lost me a bit, but still found it's home with still focussing on these characters we've been introduced to before. Serving as a gateway to a final arc to the story, it holds the series up even through all its shortcomings. As I found the ending satisfying in of itself.

The third and I presume to be final season started off interesting and likeable. But when Part 2 came around, I basically lost interest and so did the show it seems. Ditching characters that were just there for filler and having no real impact on the protagonist during Part 1. As it reintroduces the other cast we knew and loved. They seemed sour and undeeded in the end. As Ken's transformations I felt were very rushed and held no weight. Making him feel more like a sideshow rather than a leading character in a show. A true disconnect was not felt at Part 1, but actually at Part 2 surprisingly. Ken hasn't seemed to learn from his mistakes, even though that's what the overlining arc was? It just didn't make sense at all and felt so uninspired. A true let down for the series. But, it did have its ups. The animation, while not as stylised and fluid as season 1, still looked damn good. This season went on for too long and tried to build up something that never came to be. It rushes into things that were never seeded. As a result, it has an unsatisfactory viewing experience. Not worth the 3-year wait.

**Season 1** _Tokyo Ghoul_ **- 8/10**
**Season 2** _Tokyo Ghoul √A_ **- 6.5/10**
**Season 3** _Tokyo Ghoul:re Part 1 + Part 2_ **- 4.5/10**

_**Overall - 6.3/10**_

The first two seasons of this show are not too bad, and I could recommend them, with some great emotion and energy in the first season especially. However, it is horribly paced and lacks a team that understands proper adaptation scripting. The third season is very generic on top of having the most extreme cases of this garbage, and I had to stop watching then because I would just rather read the manga to get a better experience and understanding of the story. It doesn't look too bad, though it progressively looks worse and worse as the series goes on. It also comes off as pretentious with its openers following the excellent one in Season 1, which is a weird thing since the creators must have known how much of the plot they had cut out in order to shove these seasons out quickly. Such a shame, but won't be revisiting for that reason.

(+) Strong first season and solid second season
(+) Likeable characters (at least for the first half of the show)
(=) Some seasons adapt main parts of series, but still cuts out far too much to be remotely understood at times
(=) Weird pacing that feels rushed and lacking in detail, likely due to lazy manga adaptation
(=) Weirdly censored, so some elements of show lack the brutality and shock that the manga contains
(-) Weak third season that kills momentum

Final Verdict: 6.79/10 (Good)

With as few spoilers as possible, ghouls look just like humans but they eat them. As one would expect, these ghouls are quite strong and their origins are a mystery - similar to vampires in other stories. The major difference being that people are very aware of ghoulish existence.

As with many stories, this introduces an introverted, whiny weakling who is thrust in the midst of the ghoul world. Many things then start happening and it seems like the author or (if the anime strays from the manga) producer loses track of things and doesn't tie up loose ends.

The transition from the second into the third season is abrupt and most characters are just referenced to later on. Many things remain unexplained as major characters were introduced throughout the second and quite big reveals are made at the end. The reasons for the main characters action however, stay shrouded in a veil of pseudo-psychological justifications.

The unfinished story aside, the animations are crisp and well-done, and the story has a good pace, but I couldn't bring myself to watch past the first episodes of season 3. The disconnect was and lingering questions were very annoying.

A very good anime for people who like theory-crafting, but for those without that time on their hands who want a nice bow on a story, skip this.